Accessible Yoga School
Cultivating equity in yoga through ancient wisdom & modern practice
Your online academy for trustworthy, high-quality education and action on accessibility and equity in yoga
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Get Support From Experts
Explore trauma-informed teaching, social justice topics, accessible asana, consent and empowerment, yoga for seniors, and much more with our Accessible Yoga trainers and faculty.
Knowledge and Practice
Our courses offer ancient wisdom from yoga philosophy combined with practical tools for modern teachers and learners who care about living their values of equity, justice, and accessibility.
Making Yoga Training Accessible
If you've postponed continuing education because of costs, time, or health risks associated with travel, your wait is over. Everything is recorded and captioned so you can work at your own pace.
Upcoming Courses
Re-imagine It All: Centering Healing, Joy and Liberation
October 4 - 13, 2022 | 12 hrs
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 9am-12pm PST | 12pm-3pm EST
Facilitator: kelley nicole palmer
Re-imagine It All is an invitation to use an ever growing understanding of racial equity and social justice to evaluate the way you are upholding, enforcing and leaning into systems of oppression. In a facilitated virtual community, we will center self study and curiosity as keys to unlock our ability to imagine new solutions.
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Transcending Binaries:
Yoga, Gender & Embodiment
November 1, 3, 15, 17, 2022 | 12 hrs
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 1:30pm-4:30pm PST | 4:30pm-7:30pm EST
Facilitators: Trans Yoga Project co-founders: Rebby Kern, Daniel Sannito, Puja Singh Titchkosky, M Camellia, Noha Arafa & Zel Amanzi
This training is a fresh, deeper take on a “trans inclusion 101” class, expanding beyond basic definitions and concepts and allowing practitioners of all genders to truly begin dismantling the binaries that are barriers to experiencing and teaching yoga as a bliss and liberation practice.
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Making Pranayama Accessible: Finding Ease & Safety with the Breath
December 1 - 15, 2022 | 7 hrs
Tues & Thurs | 2pm-3:30pm PST | 5pm-6:30pm PST
* 1 hour introductory session Thurs December 1st
Instructor: Jivana Heyman
Join Jivana Heyman for an exploration of pranayama, focusing on finding safe, welcoming, and fun ways to approach these subtle and powerful tools.
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Accessible Yoga Training Online
January 18 - February 3, 2023 | 38 hour training
Mon, Wed, Fri | 12pm-3pm Pacific | 3pm-6pm Eastern
Instructor: Jivana Heyman, Amber Karnes, and more
The Accessible Yoga Training Online is a foundational course for all yoga teachers, developed to assist trainees in learning to design yoga classes where all students can practice together regardless of age, size, ability, or experience level.
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Accessible Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training Online
Commencing early 2023
Facilitators: Jivana Heyman, M Camellia, and Accessible Yoga School faculty
This foundational training will help you build a teaching practice that equips you with the tools you need to share yoga with all your students, while celebrating their differences and individuality.
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Trauma & Yoga Series: Exploring Power, Privilege & Healing
'On Demand' access to recordings & resources from this series coming soon! Join our interest list to be the first to know when on-demand enrollment is open.
Facilitators: Sangeeta Vallabhan, Jenn Turner, Nityda Gessel, Hala Khouri, Mei Lai Swan, Kelly Marshall & Jivana Heyman
This is an seven-part series of workshops presented on the ways that trauma impacts different communities, and the role of yoga in addressing that trauma. Each week we’ll address a different aspect of the ways that trauma impacts specific communities, as well as best practices for sharing yoga in a trauma informed way.
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Introduction to Chair Yoga
5 week online course with live Q&A | 8 hours
Self paced, with new content delivered each week.
*Enrollment is currently closed but an interest list is forming
Instructor: Jivana Heyman
Join Jivana Heyman, the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, for a five-week workshop that will explore how to practice asana safely in a chair.
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Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption As a Practice
Self-paced, pre-recorded delivery of this training is coming soon! Join our interest list to be the first to know when on-demand enrollment is open.
Facilitator: kelley nicole palmer
Get clear on your role in dismantling systems of oppression and activate your yoga practice for social justice. Start working toward the future you believe in with practical tools for self-study, dealing with uncomfortable conversations, and finding your focus.
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Yoga & Activism
*Enrollment is currently closed but an interest list is forming
Instructor: Anjali Rao
This program integrates tenets of yoga philosophy, along with concepts from sociology, guiding participants to take an action-oriented approach so we can co-create diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities.
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Conscious Marketing:
Justice-Focused Digital Strategies for Yoga Teachers
*Enrollment is currently closed but an interest list is forming
Instructor: Tristan Katz
Learn to create marketing strategies that work with the time, skills, and knowledge you already have AND align with your values. This course will offer a deep dive into digital marketing through the lens of yoga and social justice. Throughout our time together, you’ll gain systems and techniques to grow your work while staying genuine, authentic, and engaged.
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What Our Students Are Saying
Life long learning process
“My biggest takeaway was accepting not always being 'correct' or saying the right thing. That using correct language and actions to be fully accessible as a Yoga teacher and community member is a life long learning process. People will respect your authenticity if you are brave enough to show your faults.”
-Melanie Jones, Accessible Yoga Training Online participant
Supports yoga for everybody
“I’d recommend Accessible Yoga training because it supports yoga teachers to get past the (western) biases and prejudices of the 'yoga isn’t for me' category and supports Yoga is for every body.”
-Katherine Skinner, Accessible Yoga Training Online participant
The core of yoga is accessibility
"The Accessible Yoga Training helped me discover that accessibility encompasses so many different dimensions -- physical, cognitive, emotional, financial, political -- and yet at the same time, the core of yoga is indeed accessibility."
-Daniel Choi, Accessible Yoga Training Online participant
It's truly for everyone
"The Accessible Yoga Training helped me discover my love of diving into and exploring yoga philosophy (and how it can be truly accessible)! It's felt a bit elusive to me, or like it was for more 'advanced, wiser' teachers, and I don't feel like that anymore. It's truly for everyone, teacher or student!"
-Sarah, Accessible Yoga Training Online participant
Tools and perspective
"I'd recommend the Accessible Yoga Training to a friend because the tools and perspective I learned from made me realize how little integration there is in most yoga classes I attend and teach. People with disabilities or BIPOC are rarely welcomed and respected in yoga spaces and are therefore denied access to the healing benefits of a sustained yoga practice. We need to restructure studios and our classes so everyone is welcome and can walk away having learned something about themselves and challenged there self- perceptions.
I also found it very important to drive home the point that physical ability does not equal inner peace and that the power structure of teacher and student can become a dangerous power dynamic. As teachers we need to remember to stay humble and realize we are merely imparting teachings and skill sets, we are not all mighty healers, we are space creator where people can come to learn about themselves and take care of their needs through agency and self-empowerment. All yoga teachers need this outlook to tap into the benefits of yoga beyond the physical form."
-Kelly Wieman, Accessible Yoga Training Online participant
About Accessible Yoga School
Accessible Yoga School was founded in the summer of 2020 by Jivana Heyman and Amber Karnes. This online school will:
- Address gatekeeping in yoga by platforming the voices of underestimated and marginalized teachers
- Address issues of white supremacy in yoga in all of its manifestations: racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, cultural appropriation, and more
- Provide quality education around equity issues in yoga, including practical tools from trustworthy sources to inform your teaching practice
- Offer this education in an even more accessible format: 100% online
The Accessible Yoga School will bring you in-depth courses, mentorship programs, study groups, book clubs, and more, led by yoga educators from communities who embody and share the values of interconnectedness and liberation that are the heart of yoga’s teachings. Learn more »
